Salvia coccinea This beauty is a popular bedding plant and has been in cultivation for over 200 years. Easily grown from seed or from starts, this species branches up and out to 3 feet during its long- blooming season. The green textural leaves are hairy beneath, and flowers are borne in groups along the stems for up to 12 inches.

Salvia farinacea One of the other common bedding plant choices for this genus, S. farinacea embodies the cooler side of salvias with dusty whites and impressionist painting bluish purples. They can take light shade to sun and are a great filler plant with a mature size of about 16" tall by 10" inches wide.

'Victoria' has blue-purple stems and flowers and is one of the tallest at 20". 'Rhea' is a more compact version of 'Victoria' topping out a 14 inches. 'Strata' has silvery grey stems and calyces with a deep blue corolla in the center. Showy! And the winner of Britain's bedding plant of the year for 1997.

Salvia splendens Hot, hot, hot! This diverse species comes in an array of colors; red, purple, pink, salmon, white, and bicolor. In general plants grow to be 12"-18" tall by 12" wide but there is a wide range depending on hybrid. Masses of concentric stacks of tubular flowers gives the plant compact, spiky look. Similar to those listed above, you will get a lot more action out of this plant if you deadhead the spent blossoms. Keep an eye out for slugs and aphids.

There are more than 20 cultivars of this species, however not all are common as grown bedding plants. The 'Sizzler' and the 'Salsa' are two common, fabulous series that are widely available.

Salvia discolor An unusual deciduous Salvia that hails from Peru. The foliage is lightly scented, green on top, silvery gray beneath, with long stems (up to 2 ft. tall) that bear flowers for almost 12 inches. The stems are sticky so it's best planted where it won't be brushed up against. The amazing part is the flowers themselves, which are a color of such deep indigo that they can appear black, creating a fabulous contrast with the grey flower sheaths and green stems.

Salvia elegans Ahhh…the lovely scent of pineapple. If you don't have access to a pina colada, or some nice fresh fruit you can crush the leaves of this scented salvia as you walk through your garden. Green leaves and a flush of RED flowers make this a wonderful addition to any garden. Grows to 2" by 2" and flowers until frost!

Salvia greggii The collection of cultivars that fall under this species are dainty, airy, and come in quite a spectrum of colors; mostly pinks and reds but also in purple, white, peach, and soft yellow. The flower heads are open and the leaves are much smaller than on other salvias.

This species hybridizes with S. microphylla easily, so we can expect to see more cultivars of this appear as time goes on. Some of the many hybrids available now include; 'Sierra San Antonio', 'Lipstick', 'Navajo Purple', 'Chiffon' and many more. Mature size varies but is usually around 30" by 24".

Salvia guarantica Also known as Anise-scented sage, S. guarantica is an elegant garden drama queen. The erect, branching stems grow dark as they near the tips and terminate in a 8” head of glowing vibrant blue-violet flowers that last until frost. Usually perennial, they need mulching to protect from winter cold and often die back to the ground in any case. Set out the slug bait around these guys.

Mature size is often 20" wide by 4"-8" depending on culture, cultivar, and conditions. 'Black and Blue' comes in to bloom mid season and is most like the description above. 'Blue enigma' lacks the dark stems and calyces but begins to bloom earlier in the season.

Salvia argentea Silver sage Forms a rosette of super fuzzy grey-sliver leaves. In the second year it bears stalks up to three feet tall of white flowers with mauve flecks displayed in whorls. This species is of Mediterranean origin, is very drought tolerant and would love a sunny spot in a rockery or herb garden. Watch out for slugs and snails!

Saliva sclarea Clary Sage A native of southern Europe and North Africa, this plant is beloved by many and has been used for thousands of years. However it is important to note that it is not beloved by all. The State of Washington has just added it to their invasive weed list and growers there are subject to fines.

This plant is at it’s best in early summer when the flower stalks (up to 3-4 feet tall) open up pinkish-white-violet-blue flowers above the 6” large, rough, hairy leaves. If you do remove the spent heads you should see another flush of blooms in the fall.

Salvia nemerosa Generally deciduous, S. nemerosa is a compact with a thick basal rosette of textural, crinkled, leathery leaves and a mass of compact densely flowered spikes. This variety is nicely drought tolerant when established and comes in rich violet blues and occasionally pink. The mature size for most cultivars is around 18”by 18”. Common varieties include 'East Friesland' a.k.a. 'Ostfriesland', 'Cardonna', 'Blue Hills' a.k.a. 'Blauhugel', and 'May Night' which are all shades of violet. 'Pink Friesland' is as one might guess, a lavender-pink variety.

Salvia officionalis (Garden Sage) This variety is the one commonly used for culinary (and sometimes medicinal) purposes. Bearing highly aromatic evergreen leaves, this is a small woody shrub maturing around 1-2" tall, and up to 3" wide depending on the cultivar and conditions. Purple (and occasionally white) flowers are held up above the foliage. There are now quite a few varieties of this aromatic leaved Mediterranean plant available.

Beyond 'sage green', numerous colors of leaved and flowered varieties exist including 'Berggarten' (larger leaf), Curly (thinner rippled leaves), and 'Variegated' a.k.a. 'Golden' (green and gold), as well as an interesting variegated one called 'Tricolor' (Green, purple and white).

Salvia uglinosa (Bog sage) One of the tallest sages around, the deciduous Bog Sage tops out at 4-5' and 20" wide. Medium blue flowers bloom summer and fall. This loves a sunny well-drained position and will enjoy a moister situation than other Salvias.